Book Review: Every Secret Thing by Ann Tatlock

categories: Book, Suspense, Fiction, 1970s, Romance, Boarding School, Christian, Mystery

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Ann Tatlock

about this book: More of my own life is in this story than in any other book I've written. By that I mean, I chose as the setting the private school I attended in Delaware in the 1970s. Sanford School was spread out over some 200 acres of former farmland. The original barn had been converted into classrooms (bathrooms in the former silo), the farmhouse became the cafeteria, and the school was opened in 1930. With the eventual addition of numerous other buildings and dormitories, Sanford became a boarding school that educated students from around the world.

For years I knew I wanted to set a story at Sanford and finally the timing was right.

Every Secret Thing is the story of Beth Gunnar, a never-married English teacher and alumni of Seaton Preparatory School who is invited back to teach at her alma mater. She returns not just to a place but to the memory of a tragedy: the unexplained disappearance of a beloved teacher. Beth finds herself once again looking for answer--and finds them in unexpected places.

While the overall plot of this story is pure fiction, many of the details are true and were part of my own experience of growing up in Delaware and attending Sanford School. And Beth Gunnar? Let's just say she is more like the author who created her than any of the other characters who populate my books.

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Other books by Ann Tatlock

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Intriguing Mystery

Part of me wants to call this a nice comfortable read- which it is. However if you're a Curious George like me, you know there is a little more to the story. This book kept me reading to find the secrets that everyone was holding back. Not just things that happened, but also things that were felt were held inside, rather than bringing them before the other person and having a resolution. The other thing that intrigued me was that the main character had a teacher/mentor and was becoming that same thing to one of the students in her class. I loved the part where her former teacher/mentor quotes her high school essay that he did not agree with to the student she is now mentoring. Sometimes things come full circle and this book demonstrates that. What you send out will come back to you, and what is done in the darkness will eventually come to light. This book is not preachy at all but did put out some vibes for life lessons that will touch us all. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!